My dream and where to start......

Alot of interesting ideas regarding life choices.

There is no right or wrong way i think.
Some people work really hard their whole lives. make a bundle of money, have families, build a lil empire, retire then die at 60 shortly after retiring.
Im pretty sure that no one EVER on their death bed wished they worked more.

Im a late starter in life at 43 having only owned a house for the last 12 months. Only started sailing 5 years ago. Something i longed to do since a kid, but never got to until 38 years old.
Never thought id be able to go anywhere or do anything outside of NZ as my parents aspired to do **** all. Luckily i had a thirst for adventure, but i had alot of problems as a result of growing up in a really unstable environment. The benefit of growing up surrounded by morons and criminals is that , its all downhill for you if you choose the good stuff.
Luckily I got a 1 way ticket out of NZ and that was in 94. Since then, ive done aid work in Guatemala in 96, Built house in Sri Lanka after Tsunami, clocked up 40k nm on a Private yacht, hitch hiked literally 10,000kms, taught english in Italy, worked in night clubs in Vienna blah blah blah.
THis went on for over 20 years. living out of a pack and only carrying a guitar. It ended in 2008. I decided i was over the gypsy life and yearned for down under after 10 years in Europe. Starting again is always hard and i did it soo many times. It gets harder and harder, although you get smarter and more efficient at it.
Some people said i wasted my life. I dont feel i have. The memories and friendships are eternal.
For me once i got out of NZ, i couldnt stop travelling til i was ready. It was therapy and it was the right thing for me to do.
The people that say ive wasted my life are those people that worked in 1 job since school, got into property early and now theyre sitting pretty. Good on em! theres nothing wrong with that and theres also nothing wrong with doing stuff later in life.
1 thing ive never done is get jealous of others. I couldnt give a damn if someone has more than me.

Currently i have about 16cents in my account and 50 bucks in my wallet, but my mortgage is getting paid and my bills are up to date. Id have some savings for sure if i was living on my boat though!!
Alot of people my age have a lot of dough in the bank. Im not into comparing or anything but no doubt they worked hard, saved and probably had families etc. Everyones different and ive got no regrets at all. Im still sailing and in my own home. Just as well im not into going out cause i cant afford it right now!
Moneys gonna come soon - it has to, as ive got to spend a fair bit on the Top Hat.
After all. Our current reality is simply a result of our past choices.

OP i started working on a private yacht at 33. I saved a fair bit of money doing this job over a 3 year period until i couldnt stomach it anymore. Its mostly unheard of in the yacht industry for over 30's guys to start as deck crew. People kept telling me i wouldnt get a job and it was a bit hard as i was in Antibe , France and it was really competitive . I went to a ship yard instead in Barcelona, got my choice of 3 jobs within 4 days, then constantly got offered crew jobs until i picked my boat i wanted to work on. Theres always a way.
I really dont buy the "youre too old to start something new"
That attitude will make you old and scared.
The natural progression after all these different jobs was to become self employed. Still yet to really crack it, but the freedom of being your own boss cant be beat. Always learning and evolving and that keeps your mind young. You gotta look after your body though!

1 thing for sure, if i was living on my boat now which im setting up for cruising atm, id have sooooo much more money!!!! id be getting my mortgage paid and have 0 bills, but i love my garden, my chickens and the house and the area, but i could easily live on my tophat.

yeah true Ramona. Next year when im away im not even renting the place out. Just having different friends stay/use the house. Thought about renting it out as a holiday rental or air bnb, but naaaa...id rather be broke and not have strangers in my house.